Center for Healthy Churcheshttp://chchurches.org
Cultivating Hope and HealingTue, 15 Jan 2019 11:21:42 +0000en-UShourly1A New Trend in Pastoral Callshttp://chchurches.org/a-new-trend-in-pastoral-calls/
http://chchurches.org/a-new-trend-in-pastoral-calls/#respondTue, 15 Jan 2019 11:21:42 +0000http://chchurches.org/?p=3212In the Baptist world, an ecclesial culture that treasures local church autonomy and operates in a “free call” method for pastoral assignments, there seems to be a new trend emerging. More and more Pastor Search Committees are considering associate ministers with no senior pastor experience to senior pastor roles. Throughout much of my ministry, I […]

]]>In the Baptist world, an ecclesial culture that treasures local church autonomy and operates in a “free call” method for pastoral assignments, there seems to be a new trend emerging. More and more Pastor Search Committees are considering associate ministers with no senior pastor experience to senior pastor roles.

Throughout much of my ministry, I have observed pastor search committees limit their pool of candidates to ministers with solo or senior pastor experience. In the past, it has not been uncommon for search committees to limit their search with demographic parameters that are surprisingly narrow, such as seeking candidates “who are 35-55 years of age, who have graduated from a Baptist seminary, and who have 5 or more years senior pastor experience.”

During a Center for Healthy Churches consultants retreat last fall, when asked to provide an update on the church from which I had retired, I shared that the church had called a 36-year-old associate pastor who had no senior pastor experience. And then I added affirmatively, “And he seems to be off to a great start.”

This led to our group recounting and listing the growing number of churches in our circles of acquaintance who have also recently called an associate pastor or a ministry resident to the position of senior pastor. Our team named 16 such churches immediately and continued to add to the list in follow up conversations. We were all surprised at the large number of churches (even those churches some call “big steeple churches,” “flagship churches,” or “legacy churches”) who have called new senior pastors whose only previous experience is as an associate.

One of our team members mentioned that when he started out, it was expected that a pastor would begin serving as a solo pastor in a small church, perhaps even while attending college or seminary, and then move to a larger pastorate soon after graduation. Several of my veteran colleagues recalled that when our generation of ministers moved from a smaller church to a larger church, the biggest challenge was adjusting to a multi-staff culture and providing guidance over a much larger budget.

Then we began to itemize the advantages that associates, who already have experience on a medium or large church staff, bring to a senior pastor role:

They are familiar and comfortable with how a medium to large church operates.

They are already comfortable and familiar with a multi-staff environment.

They are acquainted with budgetary designations, parameters, and objectives.

They bring fresh eyes and ideas to the church context and the emerging role of a senior pastor.

They usually fall in an age range that makes a long tenure possible.

But there are also challenges for an associate who moves directly to the pastorate of a medium to large congregation:

As an associate they may have preached periodically, but now they must prepare sermons for 40-46 Sundays per year in addition to midweek services and other special events, a responsibility which requires a relentless discipline of preparation.

Depending on the candidate’s age, they must overcome the stereotype of “youthfulness.”

They must adjust to senior leadership. Even though an associate has experience leading large groups of people, senior pastoral leadership can often be more like herding cats than shepherding sheep.

A senior pastor must show fairness and balance to all the ministries of the church and not be preferential. For example, an associate who has served for years in student ministry, cannot give preferential treatment to student ministry.

An associate who becomes a senior pastor must be patient with the learning curve and not expect to have the wisdom of a veteran pastor overnight.

Dave Snyder recently transitioned from an associate’s role to serve as the new senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Pensacola, a church with 2600 members. When asked about some of the biggest challenges he has faced, Snyder immediately mentions the learning curve: “My lack of experience as a senior pastor presents some unique challenges. For example, there is no history in my soul when it comes to dealing with major church issues, unexpected tragedies, and overall staff leadership. Each month of my first year tends to be a classroom full of lessons learned. When leading staff meetings, prayer gatherings, ordinances, counseling, and preaching, I don’t have years of experience or expertise to draw on. Although my excitement is there, the lack of history in the role can produce an uneasiness in me if I allow it to.”

Then Snyder adds, “After 17 years in student ministry, I have discovered new life and excitement in ministry. A senior pastor carries different types of work and labor. I have been excited about my first Christmas Eve service, my first Lord’s Supper, and my first deacon ordination. For veteran senior pastors, these come as normal parts of the call. In my first year, they are all brand new. On top of these, meeting, shepherding, and teaching the people of God creates deeper joy in my call. Multi-generations of people are now under my care. Although this is a huge undertaking, but I am being strengthened by God’s amazing grace.”

Pastor Search Committees who are looking for the best possible senior pastor are discovering that experienced associate pastors and ministry residents are prime candidates for their consideration.

A healthy church is a community of Jesus followers with shared vision, thriving ministry, and trusted leadership. The team of consultants at the Center for Healthy Churches are available to assist your congregation in facilitating healthy pastoral transition. For more information about our services please contact us.

]]>http://chchurches.org/a-new-trend-in-pastoral-calls/feed/0Leadership in Turbulent Timeshttp://chchurches.org/leadership-in-turbulent-times/
http://chchurches.org/leadership-in-turbulent-times/#respondTue, 08 Jan 2019 11:42:29 +0000http://chchurches.org/?p=3204This Christmas, I gave and received a great book. Let me introduce it to you if you have not already found it. Leadership in Turbulent Times is the latest book by historian and leadership expert Doris Kearns Goodwin. She builds on her earlier books about Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson to present this current book about all four […]

]]>This Christmas, I gave and received a great book. Let me introduce it to you if you have not already found it. Leadership in Turbulent Times is the latest book by historian and leadership expert Doris Kearns Goodwin. She builds on her earlier books about Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson to present this current book about all four Presidents. Her point in the new book is that each man endured a very difficult season in life that led him to defeat and despair. However, instead of camping out in this miserable crisis for the rest of his life, each man used the turbulent times of personal and political crisis to make him a better person and leader. Her book describes the early years of each man when they showed great promise for leadership in their communities. A second section of the book depicts the season of crisis that forged the leader into greatness. In the final section she shows how each man demonstrated a leadership trait that shaped the country and that can become a model for our leadership today.

As I read about each man, I was fascinated by their personal story of triumph on the other side of turbulence. I also learned much from the leadership lessons that each man teaches us as they made a great impact on the nation they served. Abraham Lincoln demonstrated “Transformational Leadership” as he “entered the presidency at the gravest moment in American history. His temperament and absolute determination helped win the war, save the union, and end slavery.” Theodore Roosevelt exhibited “Crisis Leadership” as he “guided his countrymen through a long battle designed to restore fairness to America’s social and economic life in the wake of the industrial revolution.” Franklin D. Roosevelt portrayed “Turnaround Leadership” as he “delivered a sustained, reanimating energy to a nation suffering from the Great Depression and losing faith in democracy.” Finally, Lyndon Johnson showed “Visionary Leadership” as he “gained office in a moment of national tragedy. His legislative mastery galvanized a domestic agenda that achieved more for civil rights than any leader since Lincoln.”

There is a lesson here for churches who are trying to be healthy. Sometimes the greatest strength in leadership comes on the other side of turbulence. It was certainly the case in the lives of these four Presidents. I see many churches struggling in turbulent waters today. Attendance is declining, financial resources are dwindling, buildings are aging, the culture seems to be ignoring the church, the polarization of our politics makes unity in the church more difficult each day. By all measures, these are turbulent and difficult days to be leading churches. The question is, “Will we let this turbulence make us bitter or better?” I was moved by the book that “tells the story of how they all met with dramatic reversals that disrupted their lives and threatened to shatter forever their ambitions. Nonetheless, they all emerged better fitted to confront the contours and dilemmas of their times.” I pray that will be said of the church on the other side of our turbulent days!

How do we live through the turbulence of the church today so that we will one day be better fitted to “confront the contours and dilemmas” of our times? My reading about the Presidents took my mind to a character in the Bible who faced his own turbulence. The Apostle Paul called it his “thorn in the flesh.” He prayed again and again for this trouble to be removed – but it remained. Finally, he realized that the turbulence of the thorn was helping him to lean on the power of God in his own weakness. It is at the intersection of his own weakness and God’s power, that Paul found strength beyond what he had ever known. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

What if in these turbulent days of ministry in the church, we approached our thorn in the following ways?

 Instead of focusing on tweaking outdated programs, we get serious about prayer that seeks God’s guidance into new forms of ministry.

 Instead of expecting declining numbers of clergy to solve the challenges of the turbulence, we all take responsibility for the ministry of the church.

 Instead of bemoaning the fact that our church budget is not what it once was, we dream about the possibilities of a reimagined budget that has been shaped by prayer and greater ministry engagement of all church members.

 Instead of spending funds we do not have to maintain buildings we do not need, we dream about how to be the best stewards by redeploying the assets we do have.

 Instead of believing that our best years are behind us as a church, we live with expectant hope that God’s work through us in the future will be greater than what we have ever known.

These are turbulent days for the church. They may just be the very best days of preparation for something new that God wants to do tomorrow? How will the story be written for your church?

]]>http://chchurches.org/leadership-in-turbulent-times/feed/0Asleep at Churchhttp://chchurches.org/asleep-at-church/
http://chchurches.org/asleep-at-church/#respondThu, 03 Jan 2019 11:26:26 +0000http://chchurches.org/?p=3201Several years ago, we tried something radical on Wednesday evenings at our church. Over the course of five weeks, we had prayer meeting. This was not simply the hospital list prayer meeting, this was honest prayer. One hour of prayer, five weeks in a row. Each week we explored and practiced a different tradition and […]

]]>Several years ago, we tried something radical on Wednesday evenings at our church. Over the course of five weeks, we had prayer meeting. This was not simply the hospital list prayer meeting, this was honest prayer. One hour of prayer, five weeks in a row. Each week we explored and practiced a different tradition and method of prayer. Interestingly, attendance climbed throughout the emphasis, and many participants commented that it was one of the few times they had prayed deeply and thoughtfully in their life as a church member.

Along with the insights I gained about prayer, I learned something else that surprised me. In preparing for the first session, I had encountered several sources that warned about an unexpected consequence of lengthy time devoted to prayer. The American lifestyle promotes and encourages a frantic pace that leads inevitably to exhaustion. The resulting sleep deprivation that is rampant in our culture makes extended prayer time difficult. Put simply, many adults will fall asleep quickly if they stop, close their eyes, and engage in deep prayer. I warned our group that it would happen, that they should not feel guilty, and that we would talk about what it meant. Sure enough, the first week, fully a third of those present fell asleep rather quickly. One of our carry-outs from this emphasis was to establish the first Friday of each month as “Day Away”. From 9 am until 4 pm, we took a mini-retreat for all those interested that was intended to provide rest, solitude, and a place and time for reflection. Those who participated found it deeply rewarding.

Any minister will tell you that Sunday morning crowds are marked by weary, sleepy, exhausted faces. While we may not have listeners like Eutychus (Acts 20), who fall out of windows, there are plenty of sleepers most Sundays. It’s not just at church, of course. Research shows that nearly 60% of college students suffer from sleep deprivation. Not long ago I heard a speaker guarantee he could raise any college student’s GPA by a full point. His simple secret: structure your life so that you get a full night’s sleep.

One of the most exhausted and weary groups I talk with are clergy. I remember how, about 3 months into my new job, I realized something was very different about me. As my wife and I talked, it was clear that a great weariness and low-grade exhaustion was slowly lifting from my life. For thirty years I had worked as a minister in a local church, often spending 70-80 hours a week engaged in ministry of some form. Even when away from the office, the cares and concerns of the congregation crowded my thoughts. In a large congregation, there was always someone dealing with the death of a loved one, the trauma of major illness, the dysfunction of a family, economic anxiety, job stress, or a dozen other issues. Loving those people and caring about them meant that I could not divorce myself from those great needs, and the resulting shared stress created a steady drain on my energy. I was a poor example of taking time off and observing Sabbath, and I now marvel at my ignorance.

Healthy churches recognize that their ministers need time for renewal and recharging. The demanding nature of ministry, the intrusion of 24/7 availability, and the predisposition of clergy to over-function create a perfect storm for exhaustion. Wise congregations will insist that ministers take time off, go on vacations, will fund and encourage continuing education, and will provide for periodic study leave or sabbaticals.

Healthy clergy will recognize that the church is often one of the culprits in the over-filled schedules of its people. Having reasonable expectations about being physically present at the church is a place to start. One minister friend is upfront with his parishioners about his time expectations of an engaged church member. He calls it the 1+1+1 model. He asks for one hour in worship, one hour in discipleship and one hour in service each week. Additional time is a gift and welcome, but must be balanced against the demands of family, vocation and personal concerns. Such a mindset among ministers might lead us to be more judicious about meetings, and more focused on making the events we do have of higher quality.

It’s no surprise that the Bible speaks clearly to this issue. The idea of Sabbath, a day of rest from the labor of the week, is seeing a resurgence of attention as people recognize what the Bible has been teaching us for centuries: we need to rest. I hope you find the rest and renewal God designed you to know.

]]>http://chchurches.org/asleep-at-church/feed/0Ministry and the Gifts of Christmashttp://chchurches.org/ministry-and-the-gifts-of-christmas/
http://chchurches.org/ministry-and-the-gifts-of-christmas/#respondThu, 27 Dec 2018 11:20:34 +0000http://chchurches.org/?p=3196Among the myriad gifts of Christmas are: Assurance that God is with us—“Emmanuel.” God is not aloof from us or disinterested in us—not, as Bette Midler once sang, merely “watching us from a distance.” God is among us and for us. Clarity about the character of God. God is like Jesus. As former Archbishop of Canterbury Michael […]

Assurance that God is with us—“Emmanuel.” God is not aloof from us or disinterested in us—not, as Bette Midler once sang, merely “watching us from a distance.” God is among us and for us.

Clarity about the character of God. God is like Jesus. As former Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey put it, “In God, there is no unChristlikeness at all.” God is as good and gracious as Jesus said and showed.

Confidence that God will surprise us. The Christmas story is filled with unanticipated wonders. The Savior was born to peasant homeless parents in a Bethlehem barn. A choir of angels sang to startled shepherds in a lonely field. Foreign astrologers followed a strange star to bend their knees in honor of Jesus. We can expect that God will do the unexpected.

These gifts of Christmas gladden and guide us; they promise us that we are not alone, that we are loved, and that we are never beyond the reach of hope. They also shape leadership and inform ministry. Christian leaders deeply involve themselves in the lives of those entrusted to their care. They model their leadership after the example of Jesus: loving tenaciously and tenderly, serving humbly and confidently, and teaching wisely and creatively. They trust that God will act, even when they cannot predict how and where and when.

There’s another gift of Christmas which is crucial for the practice of ministry: the gift of incarnation. “Incarnation” comes from the Latin words in carneand means, literally,” “in meat.” The word makes a startling claim: in the meat and the muscle, the blood and the bones of Jesus of Nazareth, we encounter the grace and truth of God. That claim comes from the single-verse version of the Christmas story we find in the Gospel of John: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14).

Jesus lived within the limits and possibilities of a fully embodied life. Mary cuddled away the night-chill by holding him in her tender embrace. When Joseph held him close to his cheek, Jesus felt the comfort of a father’s rough, soft beard. Jesus cried when he was hungry or thirsty or wet. He laughed when Mary tickled his feet and shouted with glee when Joseph tossed him in the air. He fell and skinned his knees when he was learning to walk. When he hit his thumb with a hammer in Joseph’s carpenter shop, it really hurt. When he became a teenager, he felt stabs of desire. Throughout his life, he had headaches and stomachaches, caught colds, and sweated through the heat of fevers. In his death, he knew excruciating, torturing pain.

God’s incarnation in flesh and blood means that bodies matter to God and should be central to ministry.

Because bodies matter, so does food. Who has enough to eat and who doesn’t? What is the condition of the soil from which food grows? How are farmworkers treated and paid?

It matters that people struggle with food: some substitute it for love and can’t get enough of it. Others obsessively monitor how much of it they consume because they feel consumed by emotions which they cannot control.

It matters when our bodies become broken by disease, and it also matters that everyone has good and affordable healthcare.

It matters how the homeless are sheltered and that we work for decent and affordable permanent housing.

It matters that we create jobs which don’t demean human dignity and don’t treat the bodies of laborers as disposable cogs in a sweatshop machine.

It matters how police and prison officials treat all bodies, including black and brown bodies.

The Christmas gift of incarnation opens our eyes, ears, and hearts to the flesh-and-blood realities of our neighbors. “The Word became flesh.” Making that Word known has to do, in many ways, with how we treat bodies–our own and the bodies of others.

]]>http://chchurches.org/ministry-and-the-gifts-of-christmas/feed/0Predicting the Futurehttp://chchurches.org/predicting-the-future/
http://chchurches.org/predicting-the-future/#respondTue, 11 Dec 2018 11:52:24 +0000http://chchurches.org/?p=3173As I sit at my desk and look at the 14 inches of snow piled up outside my window, I think back to the weather forecasts that filled the TV screen in the days leading up to the storm. The forecast went from 8”-12” to 5”-8”. It went from heavy snow to freezing rain and […]

]]>As I sit at my desk and look at the 14 inches of snow piled up outside my window, I think back to the weather forecasts that filled the TV screen in the days leading up to the storm. The forecast went from 8”-12” to 5”-8”. It went from heavy snow to freezing rain and finally back to snow. Folks in Roanoke, VA were promised 3”-5”, but they got 15”! So much for the prognosticators. As one meteorologist put it, “It all depends on where the line is for freezing temperatures.” Predicting the future always depends on other factors.

It is not just the weather that is difficult to predict. Virtually every pre-election poll in the 2016 presidential election got it wrong. Great teams, once labeled unbeatable, sometimes lose. Duke basketball. Businesses, once wildly successful, often fail. See Sears. Marriages, once a dream come true, can turn into nightmares. Churches, once a thriving mission point, may weakly fade with the passage of time.

Of course, the question is always the same. How did that happen? Never saw that coming. Perhaps that is why such an emphasis is placed on staying ahead of the curve, which requires predicting the future with some degree of certainty. For the few leaders who have that kind of precise insight, it is truly a gift. These are the folk who see what is coming and make good, long-term decisions in light of it. Most of us do not have that luxury.

We have to react to multiple changes and the resulting uncertainty they bring. In a word, we have to be flexible; but we have to do that without sacrificing our guiding principles. Given the fact that most of us cannot predict the future, we need to be really good at flexibility. We need to be able to adapt when circumstances dictate. The 14” of snow caused us to cancel worship on Sunday. That one was easy. Not all adaptations are that simple.

Leaders in churches often have a more difficult time doing this than leaders in other settings. Many churches are slow to change anything. Several of them require too many groups or committees to sign off on some proposed change to ever get it done. So, churches put off making important decisions, often waiting too long to make the tough choices or needed changes. They lack flexibility. Three examples will illustrate the impact of this dilemma.

Despite all the prayers, reference checks and interviews, a church sometimes calls a person who, for whatever reason, is not a good fit. Most everyone knows it, but because it is the church, we bend over backwards to try to make it work. Meanwhile the church and its ministry suffer. These people are not bad folks. It is just that their gifts and personalities do not mesh well with others or with the ethos of that congregation. I have seen a church keep someone like that for twenty years or more. I have seen others who made a change in a more timely fashion. They were generous in a severance package, etc. Which one do you think was the healthy decision for the long-term viability of the church? We have to be flexible.

In the 40s and 50s it had been a thriving congregation in a wonderful neighborhood just at the edge of downtown. In the 60s and 70s that neighborhood began to change. Most of the members moved to the suburbs. While many of them continued to return to the church, a lot of them found a new church home. The erosion of membership continued unabated into 80s, 90s and 2000s. But it was gradual, and hardly anyone noticed. No one notices the loss of one person a month in average attendance. But after ten years, that same church has 120 less persons joining them for worship. There are redemptive paths forward for such a congregation, but in order to thrive, they will have to be flexible.

The last example has to do with church buildings that were once full, but that now sit empty and deteriorating. There is a lot of square footage in a lot of churches not being utilized today. Bringing old buildings up to code can be expensive. Asbestos abatement and environmental concerns can generate obstacles very difficult to overcome. But letting buildings sit and age is hardly ever the best option. Again, there are many redemptive paths. Leasing space to a non-profit, sharing space or merging with another congregation, or even deciding to demolish old structures can prove to be the best action for a church. Whatever path is chosen, they will need to be flexible.

Since none of us can fully predict what the future may hold, we are left to navigate it as it unfolds. In the church it will require conversation, courage, trust, hope and flexibility…believing that the best is yet to be.

]]>http://chchurches.org/predicting-the-future/feed/0My Tweets for Advent 2018http://chchurches.org/my-tweets-for-advent-2018/
http://chchurches.org/my-tweets-for-advent-2018/#respondTue, 04 Dec 2018 12:00:08 +0000http://chchurches.org/?p=3165Take time to listen, really listen, to the hearts, sounds and invitations this season of the year offers. Breathe once to let go, twice to be present and a third time for now what… Lower expectations, heighten relationships… Try to live at the pace of guidance each day and less by the pace of to […]

I have had the privilege of working with numerous congregations to clarify their identity and lean into the future proactively. When that has gone well, one consequence has nearly always been true. The fresh vision requires a significant shift in the organizational life of the congregation.

David Cooperrider, one of the founders of Appreciative Inquiry, says: “If people do great work with the processes of inquiry and dreaming, then rarely, if ever, do the older command and control structures of eras past serve the organization. The new dreams always seem to have outgrown the structures and systems.”

Of course, this is where many visioning processes get derailed. When the visionary rhetoric of a vibrant future collides with the realities of established precedents, facilities, job titles, or traditional methods, the result is conflict. The organizational inertia usually favors maintaining the status quo, and so the congregation talks a good game for a season, but eventually settles back into whatever patterns predated the visioning process.

How might we anticipate the impact of a fresh vision and welcome the inevitable shifts it will demand?

Design your visioning process to be as inclusive as possible. I believe the best processes are radically congregational, engaging as many people in as many formats as possible. Doing so is messier and more time-consuming than a top-down model, but in the end it promotes ownership and buy-in. This will be invaluable when it comes to implementation of the uncomfortable parts of the plan.

Help your congregation learn to distinguish between Essentials, Icons, and Opinions.

a. Essentials are the parts of the congregation that are non-negotiable and not up for debate. You’ll find these in scripture (see Acts 2). If we changed these, would we cease to be the Church. Not included in essentials are: buildings, existing staff models, styles of most anything, schedules, budget models, or most organizational charts.

b. Icons are those things in our church that have deep and powerful symbolic meaning to us that disguise themselves as essentials. Some of the icons I see most frequently are: facilities, liturgies, staff members, traditions (especially around holidays), and organizations. Icons hook us emotionally and make us illogical. We can lose our icons and still be the church. Watch what happens to a congregation whose sanctuary burns. Almost always, while the smoke is still rising from the rubble, someone says: “our church is so much more than a building”. Every building of every church in every part of the world is iconic, not essential to being God’s people. That doesn’t keep us from being irrationally devoted to them.

c. Opinions are our feelings about any and every part of congregational life. When we turn our impressions and opinions about a staff position/program/schedule into fact, we lose crucial objectivity. I recently heard someone proclaim in an implementation meeting: “we cannot do church without our Wednesday night activities!” Really?

3. Once those differences are clarified, work hard to make these words come alive:

a. Nimble. Congregations that are effective in ministry in the 21st century will be able to respond quickly and nimbly to opportunities. The old structures that prized lengthy deliberation and glacial progress must give way. Beware of overcompensating and becoming unmoored, but know that pace matters.

b. Lean. Vibrant congregations are pancaking their organizational structures and simplifying their decision-making life. The cumbersome models that strangle us are a product of the post-industrial models that dominated the last 75 years of congregational life. Vibrant congregations are morphing those structures into leaner, less redundant models. An annual church business meeting is plenty. The decisions and work of the congregation must take place in smaller settings where teams/committees/task groups are empowered to act.

c. Collaborative. One of the most predictable outcomes of a healthy visioning process is the recognition that the gifts of all the congregation are required to fulfilling the mission of the church. Staff must adjust to laity as partners in ministry, rather than subjects. Laity must step up as engaged in their call, rather than hiring staff to do the work of the church. Staffing models that assumed an over-functioning paid staff and under-functioning laity need to be re-balanced.

d. Leadership. Your new vision will require real leadership. Many congregations will need to define leadership (I’d suggest following Jesus’ example) and allow their leaders to lead. This is easier said than done, but does not change the fact that it is essential.

Most congregations don’t start out to reorganize staffing models, worship styles, Bible Study groups, or leadership structures, but they soon find that the old wine-skins of the past cannot always hold the new wine of 21st century ministry. The good news is that this constant reformation is at the heart of what has kept the Church vibrant for centuries. Let it continue!

]]>http://chchurches.org/why-visioning-efforts-fail-succeed/feed/0Stitched Togetherhttp://chchurches.org/stitched-together/
http://chchurches.org/stitched-together/#respondTue, 20 Nov 2018 19:28:44 +0000http://chchurches.org/?p=3149I am a member at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, VA. In 2008, we began to welcome refugees from Burma into our congregation, many of whom spoke little or no English. Today, we serve together, side-by-side, learning from and teaching each other. On any given Sunday, some parts of the service – the Scripture reading, […]

]]>I am a member at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, VA. In 2008, we began to welcome refugees from Burma into our congregation, many of whom spoke little or no English. Today, we serve together, side-by-side, learning from and teaching each other. On any given Sunday, some parts of the service – the Scripture reading, the morning prayer, or one of the anthems is in one of the Burmese languages represented in our church family. Everyone leads worship in what we call their “heart language.”

To help our ESL members engage more fully in worship, we also have a theme and a corresponding liturgical installation in our sanctuary for each season of the church year. This fall, our theme has been “Stitched Together.” Each week, the youth have draped the communion table with a quilt belonging to a church member. In the bulletin, the quilter or owner contributes the story of the quilt, or lessons learned from making the piece.

This Sunday, Christ the King Sunday, my newest quilt project – still a work in progress – will grace the communion table. I have been working on this quilt since late July. Coming home and sewing, even for just a few minutes, has been good therapy, because this has been a challenging season for me vocationally.

Here are some of the life lessons I’ve learned or been reminded of as I’ve worked on this challenging project:

Big new projects often look overwhelming. This kit came with 27 different fabrics, countless pages of pattern pieces, and a 35-page instruction booklet. The first time I looked through the kit, I was afraid I couldn’t do it. However, I soon came to learn that if I trusted the process and tackled each step one at a time, beauty began to emerge.

Success is motivating. As each section “worked,” I got more motivated to continue. Some days I couldn’t wait to get home to begin a new section, and soon I would have another section pieced together.

Expect some failure. Some days it seemed like I spent more time taking pieces apart than putting them together. Sometimes I would have to do a section 3 times before I got it right. I’ve been reminded of the value of patience and perseverance at several points along the way.

Sometimes absolute accuracy is a must, and sometimes you can take creative license, but knowing when each is needed is critical to the success of the project. The only way a quilt this complex works is if each piece is precisely pieced. However, during the quilting phase, I could relax a bit and do some free-form work. So it is in our ministry settings. Sometimes we must tend to details with care and intentionality, and other times we feel the joy of going with the flow and seeing what emerges – but discerning which time is which is critical.

Repetitious tasks can free our minds to do higher level thinking. Like knitting, which I also enjoy, this quilt required that I repeat a similar action over and over again. After I had mastered a specific step, I realized that I could process a challenge or problem as I worked with my hands. What began as a leisure time activity and a creative outlet quickly evolved into an important time to engage in deeper, intentional reflection. I was reminded of how important it is to regularly gift ourselves with these opportunities.

The final product will often be a mixed blessing. When I finish this quilt, I will hang it on a prominent wall in our home where I will see it nearly every day. Every time I see it, I will enjoy the vibrant colors, be reminded of the new skills I gained, and feel a sense of accomplishment for completing a complex and challenging project. However, I imagine that this piece will also always remind me of the difficult time it helped me work through, and I’ve decided that this is a good thing too. Hopefully, it will remind me that prayer, and theological reflection, and perseverance have helped me come out stronger on the other side. Hopefully, when I reflect on this time, I will see how attention to detail and going with the flow worked together to bring beauty out of the innumerable pieces that didn’t feel like they would ever come together. And finally, I hope it will remind me of the people that I became closely stitched together with along the way.

]]>http://chchurches.org/stitched-together/feed/0The #metoo Movement and the Churchhttp://chchurches.org/the-metoo-movement-and-the-church/
http://chchurches.org/the-metoo-movement-and-the-church/#respondTue, 13 Nov 2018 11:53:46 +0000http://chchurches.org/?p=3144#MeToo, a social media movement that began in November 2017, has ignited awareness of and accountability for sexual harassment. This new awareness of the abuse of power will hopefully cause all of us to pause and think about the congregation’s response. The reality of broken trust, the abuse of power, and the long-term pain affecting […]

]]>#MeToo, a social media movement that began in November 2017, has ignited awareness of and accountability for sexual harassment. This new awareness of the abuse of power will hopefully cause all of us to pause and think about the congregation’s response. The reality of broken trust, the abuse of power, and the long-term pain affecting victims make now the time to think about the church’s response and to take action.

Not long after #metoo exploded in social media and on the airwaves, #churchtoo began telling the same kinds of stories of abuse, sexual misconduct, and victims at the hands of church leaders. The stories poured out via social media, and the reality that the church, just like the general population, had a problem became evident. For many churches and church leaders, the initial response has been one of horror perhaps followed by a sense of relief that maybe these issues would not affect their congregation. Unaware of stories within their church community or church leadership, people remained disconnected. As details about the actions of important church leaders and the statistics of the amount of abuse became more widely publicized, many began to raise the question of how should we respond.

According to the national sexual violence resource center, one in five women and one in seventy men will be raped at some point in their lives. One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn eighteen.The church does not get a pass on the responsibility to protect, listen, and support victims.

There are hopeful signs that these two hashtag movements are creating a climate of awareness and change. In a September survey by LifeWay Research, fifty-two percent of pastors said they are more inclined to address domestic and sexual violence.

More resources are emerging for congregations to respond to this revelation of a long-time underlying crisis. Denominational groups and insurance providers for congregations are great resources to reach out to for help.

Consider at least three actions every church leadership team should take immediately:

First, start a conversation with your staff team. Talk about the definitions of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. What are the differences and what responsibilities do clergy have in spotting, preventing, and reporting? In addition to talking about the effects on the victim, make sure staff understand the importance of the movement to the church witness and the church’s responsibility to create a safe work environment and safe places for a member to participate in ministry.Second, review and update, or establish for the first time, sexual harassment policies for the church. Many resources are available, but a good starting point is your insurance provider. It is always a good practice for an HR attorney to review policy. A good policy should address the prohibition of harassment for both staff and members; an effective reporting process; freedom from retaliation; systems to ensure protection, confidentiality, and respect for the victim; and how to conduct an investigation that is impartial and ensures quick and appropriate action.

Third, speak about the issue openly and honestly. Create a church culture that not only provides a safe place for people to work and do ministry but also establishes a place where individuals who have been victims can tell their stories and understand they will be taken seriously, supported, and loved. Such a culture should hold those who have participated in sexual harassment accountable for their actions. Burying the issues in hopes of protecting the church risks the possibility of future abuse. Accountability is critical for healing.

A healthy church requires honesty, accountability, and resources to prevent and respond to misconduct. Waiting until there is an issue to address is the wrong approach. It is time to identify and take the next step now.

]]>http://chchurches.org/the-metoo-movement-and-the-church/feed/0The Reformation of Your Churchhttp://chchurches.org/the-reformation-of-your-church-2/
http://chchurches.org/the-reformation-of-your-church-2/#respondWed, 07 Nov 2018 10:13:27 +0000http://chchurches.org/?p=3131I have had the privilege of working with numerous congregations to clarify their identity and lean into the future proactively. When that has gone well, one consequence has nearly always been true. The fresh vision requires a significant shift in the organizational life of the congregation. David Cooperrider, one of the founders of Appreciative Inquiry, […]

]]>I have had the privilege of working with numerous congregations to clarify their identity and lean into the future proactively. When that has gone well, one consequence has nearly always been true. The fresh vision requires a significant shift in the organizational life of the congregation.

David Cooperrider, one of the founders of Appreciative Inquiry, says: “If people do great work with the processes of inquiry and dreaming, then rarely, if ever, do the older command and control structures of eras past serve the organization. The new dreams always seem to have outgrown the structures and systems.”

Of course, this is where many visioning processes get derailed. When the visionary rhetoric of a vibrant future collides with the realities of established precedents, facilities, job titles, or traditional methods, the result is conflict. The organizational inertia usually favors maintaining the status quo, and so the congregation talks a good game for a season, but eventually settles back into whatever patterns predated the visioning process.

How might we anticipate the impact of a fresh vision and welcome the inevitable shifts it will demand?

Design your visioning process to be as inclusive as possible. I believe the best processes are radically congregational, engaging as many people in as many formats as possible. Doing so is messier and more time-consuming than a top-down model, but in the end it promotes ownership and buy-in. This will be invaluable when it comes to implementation of the uncomfortable parts of the plan.

Help your congregation learn to distinguish between Essentials, Icons, and Opinions.

Essentials are the parts of the congregation that are non-negotiable and not up for debate. You’ll find these in scripture (see Acts 2). If we changed these, would we cease to be the Church. Not included in essentials are: buildings, existing staff models, styles of most anything, schedules, budget models, or most organizational charts.

Icons are those things in our church that have deep and powerful symbolic meaning to us that disguise themselves as essentials. Some of the icons I see most frequently are: facilities, liturgies, staff members, traditions (especially around holidays), and organizations. Icons hook us emotionally and make us illogical. We can lose our icons and still be the church. Watch what happens to a congregation whose sanctuary burns. Almost always, while the smoke is still rising from the rubble, someone says: “our church is so much more than a building”. Every building of every church in every part of the world is iconic, not essential to being God’s people. That doesn’t keep us from being irrationally devoted to them.

Opinions are our feelings about any and every part of congregational life. When we turn our impressions and opinions about a staff position/program/schedule into fact, we lose crucial objectivity. I recently heard someone proclaim in an implementation meeting: “we cannot do church without our Wednesday night activities!” Really??

Once those differences are clarified, work hard to make these words come alive:

Nimble. Congregations that are effective in ministry in the 21st century will be able to respond quickly and nimbly to opportunities. The old structures that prized lengthy deliberation and glacial progress must give way. Beware of overcompensating and becoming unmoored, but know that pace matters.

Lean. Vibrant congregations are pancaking their organizational structures and simplifying their decision-making life. The cumbersome models that strangle us are a product of the post-industrial models that dominated the last 75 years of congregational life. Vibrant congregations are morphing those structures into leaner, less redundant models. An annual church business meeting is plenty. The decisions and work of the congregation must take place in smaller settings where teams/committees/task groups are empowered to act.

Collaborative. One of the most predictable outcomes of a healthy visioning process is the recognition that the gifts of all the congregation are required to fulfilling the mission of the church. Staff must adjust to laity as partners in ministry, rather than subjects. Laity must step up as engaged in their call, rather than hiring staff to do the work of the church. Staffing models that assumed an over-functioning paid staff and under-functioning laity need to be re-balanced.

Leadership. Your new vision will require real leadership. Many congregations will need to define leadership (I’d suggest following Jesus’ example) and allow their leaders to lead. This is easier said than done, but does not change the fact that it is essential.

Most congregations don’t start out to reorganize staffing models, worship styles, Bible Study groups, or leadership structures, but they soon find that the old wine skins of the past cannot always hold the new wine of 21st century ministry. The good news is that this constant reformation is at the heart of what has kept the Church vibrant for centuries. Let it continue!